The prompt for Week 44, 'Shadows', made me pause and think about the shadows that could loom over a family. The shadows of war, poverty, prejudice, illness, disasters and more were - and still are - shadows that impact us all. With water all around as we emerge from a major flood in my home town which saw many friends impacted, businesses closed and roads cut, the shadow of a natural disaster is certainly on my mind.
A major shadow that could impact an entire family was the impact of mental illness, especially in times when many illnesses were misunderstood and prejudice against those with a mental illness was extreme. Even what was a genuine mental illness was misunderstood, with many people with a variety of conditions hidden away in lunatic asylums. Children born with illnesses or birth defects could be abandoned to orphanages and sent to asylums, and men (and women) impacted by war with what we now know as PTSD seen as malingerers and worse.
Over the years of my research I have discovered several ancestors who spent time in institutions such as workhouses, orphanages and lunatic asylums. Two of my Great Great grandfathers died in lunatic asylums, both from what we understand today to be dementia.
For many
families, caring for an elderly relative, especially one who had
developed dementia, was simply not possible, and before the rise of
affordable nursing homes and old age care there were few places where
the elderly could be cared for. In times when dementia was little
understood and any kind of mental illness carried a weight of social
stigma for the family as well as the sufferer, hiding the person away in
an institution was a frequent solution. Others, unable to care for
themselves because of their deteriorating mental state, were arrested
for various reasons and ended up before the courts. Many ended up in
lunatic asylums, spending their declining years in conditions that today
we would consider inhumane and totally unacceptable. For my ancestor
Edward Beseler, this was to be his fate.
Edward Beseler was born in 1836 in Neubukow, Germany and emigrated to Australia as a child with his family, father Carl Friedrich Beseler, mother Susetta Eva (Lisette) nee Farckens and 4 siblings. The family lived in Adelaide for several years before travelling to Victoria, settling on a farm in Ercildown. Edward was naturalised as an Australian citizen in 1863, and married Emma Flower in 1865. Together the couple had 10 children.
By 1900, Edward was in his 60s and showing signs
of dementia. Matters came to a head in 1909 when he appeared in court
(see report below) on the charge of having insufficient means of
support, was found to be insane and an order of commitment was made.
 |
| From the Ballarat Star, 4 February 1909 |
Edward was admitted to the Ararat Mental Asylum, where he was assessed, found to be suffering from senility, and committed to the wards. In his asylum record he is described at the time of his admission as being in fair bodily health for his age, clean and tidy but difficult to communicate with as he was quite deaf and illiterate, and described as suffering from delusions. While there are only a few doctor's notes in his file, by 1917 Edward's health was deteriorating and he died in the asylum on 7 December 1918, only a few months short of 10 years after his admission.
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